Bulletin Board

Q

Just read Sharpe's Fury: Great stuff, as always. The pedant in me was aroused however to see you'd written rostrums not rostra - but , bugger me, when I went to check in the OED it said rostruns was a legit alternative to rostra: so one up to you and no score for the pedants! I do hope to see young Sharpe back in India again sometime. Best wishes Steve Ainsworth, Halifax England


Q

Hello Mr Cornwell! This is the first time I have ever written to an author, but having stumbled on your website this evening, I couldn't let the chance pass by to send you my gratitude. I've read quite a lot of your books (Arthur, Grail Quest, Stonehenge, Saxon Stories) and they have all been so very enjoyable. However, as key characters go, in Uhtred I believe you have created someone very special indeed. He is nothing short of wonderful! My friends and colleagues think I'm rather strange to be so enthralled by a lean, mean killing machine (arrogant, deadly and VERY sexy!) but your writing is so supremely crafted he almost thrashes his way off the page! Reading of his escapades is a great stress reliever at the end of a tiresome day and my favourite "Uhtredism" to date is his response to Father Hrothweard (Uhtred having just slain Jaenberht)..."I never liked you either". A great mental image when someone has just cut me off in a traffic queue!! I agree with a previous poster on your website - these books would make a first rate movie series if handled correctly. But nothing could replace the books themselves and I hope Uhtred will continue to delight us for many books to come! Thank you again for such well crafted stories. Paula Connelly


Q

Dear Bernard, I read your story last night in a book called 'Family Wanted' by Sara Holloway. My mother had similar adopters who were driven by Catholisism. I've taken 25 years to find most of the missing blood relatives. They range from a Oxford graduate to an Elvis impersonator who has been registered blind for 22 years. I thought I would get on line today to establish it was yourself in Sara Holloway's book.You suvived the ordeal that's the main thing! I know of some that didn't and hurt themselves or others, or ended up in jail, plain hating themselves and unable to see themselves as human. Thanks for giving that story, it confirms much of what I have thought for a long time. Thanks for reading this email best wishes, Karen


Q

Dear Bernard, I randomly picked up The Lords of the North a couple of days ago at the library here in Sydney. Just finished it and I can say that the first thing I did upon doing so was check online to see that the library has the first two Saxon books. Thankfully they do. Thanks for the great read - I enjoyed it very much. Take care, Steve


Q

Since taking up fiction recently, I have been getting a great deal of pleasure in reading your Sharpe's series and Geo. MacDonald's Flashman series. Yours are my favorites. Keep it up--and thank you!! Gary McMaster


Q

Hi Bernard Have finished the third Saxon book.Lives up to its expectation. Now reading Simon Scarrow, "When the Eagle Hunts". After reading a third of this book may I say that you do not have any worries about competition. Very disappointed. You use what would have been the expressions and usage of the language known in the days of each of the periods of history you deal with. Scarrow seems to think he's in the 21st century but using Roman History as a background. Most off putting. What is the saying, I have started so I will finish, but no more of his books after this. Regards, Diane


Q

Dear Mr. Cornwall, Just would like to thank you for your wonderful Sharpe novels which, back in my school years, really got me reading. I have tried reading your other series such as Starbuck and the Grail quest but neither of them have given me the passion I have for the Sharpe novels. I introduced them to my father and he too read them all (except the last two which I don't have yet) and we have planned several trips to visit the places where the action took place (fictional or non fictional) such as Toulouse and Salamanca battle fields. I myself am fascinated by the period of the Napoleonic wars and especially by Napoleon and Wellington and so these books make it all the more enjoyable. I especially like the historical notes you put at the end of each novel to see how you have mixed fiction with historical events. So....will continue with my third run through the Sharpe novels (currently at Sharpe's sword... they have just captured the three forts) and look forward to reading the two remaining Sharpe novels. Once again, thank for these great books. Best regards, Stephan


Q

Mr. Cornwell: Thanks for page 232 of The Pale Horseman. "Words are like breath. You say them and they're gone. But writing traps them." This is excellent. Thanks! Jeff Smith


Q

Dear Bernard just a e-mailing to say how much I enjoyed the Pale Horseman just finished it. I've read all of your novels and have to say I really liked Sharpe and the Arthurian books. Congratulations on the OBE. regards, Julian Tully


Q

Mr Cornwell, I love all your books. I think you are a fantastic author. I've recently read the Lords of the North and thought it was fantastic. Uhtred is perhaps your darkest character. Derfel and Thomas of Hookton are basically decent men living in bad times while Sharpe has a good heart but Uhtred seems to like bullying weakear men especially priests. As an Irishman I particuarly liked Finian. I wish I could write like you do but I don't have a gift for English. Thanks for your time, an Irish fan